Automatic orchard heater igniter



Jan. 22, 1935. E. c. RANEY 1,988,512

AUTOMATIC ORCHARD HEATER IGNITER Filed Sept. 22, 1933 f i z 1; 2

Application glclair'nsn My invention has foriits object tam-tyne ther' inc-responsive means Iorj automatically igniting orchard heatersii j' f My invention has for its object to providemeans whereby the heater igniter' may be adjusted to operate at a predetermined temperature. When the temperature of the atmospherereaches 1pm determined point, a cartridge is automatically deg ,tonated, and the burning'fuse attached thereto ignites the orchard heater. Thusit will be seen that .heatersin an orchard may be automatically ignited when the' temperature reachesa predetermined point,.and the dangers of loss of the crop due to, delay; possible negligence, or the time invo'lved in manual ignition. will be entirely elimi b'd;, M I j h The heater igniters may bejso adjusted that onlyjthef number of heaters necessary toraise the temperature of the atmosphere beyond the dangar, point will be ignited, and additional heaters :r'naybe ignited as'jth'e' temperature falls. "Byad .J'iistih the heaterjigniters tdjvar mgtempe atures. adequate v protection for several 1 decreases in' atmo 'phe'ric temperature is insured, while fuel costs are reduced to a minimum. I I As is well known,"jtemperature conditions are not identicalth'roughout an orchard, particularly jorchards locat d on rolling ground. at' the edges of an orchard are more" liable to injury than those in the inner region's-of theiorchard where Itheftrees' are more or less protected bylthe adja- {cent trees "and their branches; Those tr'ees,

however, on the "outer edges of the orchard, are

unprotected and receive the'jfull'blastof the wind. Heater igniters used to protect those trees atithe edges of the orchardmay be so. adjusted thatthe heaters will be ignited at slightly higher tempera]- tures, thus protecting thehoutertrees, notwithstandingtheir exposureto thelwindl. I

Through the adjustment means; 119M26 gniters may be used successfullyvto' protect trees located on the crests of hills and consequently liable. to frost damage and those trees located in thenarrowvalleys. I Theheater igniter provides safe and adeduate protectionto the trees by its adjustment means, regardless of the location of the trees and the topography of the earth about the orchard.

The invention contains other features and advantages which will appear from the following description and upon examination of the drawing. Structures containing the invention may partake of different forms and may be varied in their details and still embody the invention. To illustrate a practical application of the i au'rom rrc ononalm nm'mnramran@- a Esta (1.13 m, cbium as, o e September 22,1933; Serial No'.1690,603

(on. 67- 3) j. e V

invention,-I-have' selected an orchard heater igniterfembodying thejinv'ention as an example of the'va'rious structures anddetails of such'stru'ctures 'that contain the invention and shall describe the' selected igniter hereinafter, it being understood that variation's" may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. The particular structure selected is shown in the accompanyirigfltawing. d

isa view'ofthe shell of the heater igniter, showing'the adjustmentindicator. Fig. 2 is a viewfof parts of the detonating device, "the 'face' plate; being shown removed. Fig. 3 illustrates afvie'w of a section taken on the plane of the line 3 3' indicated in Fig.1 and particu larlyillust'rates a side view of the detonating mechanismi Fig. 4 is-a view illustrating the-locationoi -partsfof the de'tonating device as the cartridge'is detonated: Fig.5 is'av'iew of a section-taken o'n'the plane of the line 55 indicated in Fig. 4 and particularly showsthe' means of securing the cartridge in the' she'll. Fig. '6 is a fragmentary view of fthe'trip or latch mechanism of the detonators Fig. a perspective view of the orchard heater igniter and an orchard heater of the wellgknow'n type.

"The orchard'heater igniter device is contained in a shell -1 to' which-a removable face plate 2 is fastened by s'uitable bolts or-riv'ets 3. An expansible Water '4, "containing a thermo-respon- ,sive fluid is secured to-th'eshell: 1 by. the bolt and'nut 5.] Pronuamgrm me wafer 4 is a pin -'7falg'ainst which a latch lever 9 is forced by an adjustable helical spring 10, the tension of which is maintained bya plate 11 internally threaded to' rec'eive a] screw 12 Y which extends through the-face plate-2. 5 The latch'lever 9 is pivoted on afbraclre t 13"c'ontained in the shell 1' and has a' l'atch; 14" adapted to support a' hammer 15. Y

" whe ammer 15 isfreelypivotable on a piny16 "contained in the" shell and has a head 18 from which protrudes a firinglug orpin '19. Fastened 'to the head 18 oftheha'mmer through a suitable eye Z Qis a tension spring 21, the: other end of "which is seeured'to'a pin'22 contained in the shell. The pressure of the spring 21 tends to force the firing pin 19 against thecartridge 24 in the cartridge chamber 25.

The head 18 of the hammer has a shoulder 26 having a protruding part 2'7 adapted to be engaged by the latch 14 or the latch lever.

When the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere lowers, the thermo-responsive fluid in the wafer 4 tends to contract, the expansible wafer contracting simultaneously and propor- 

